Judicial Watch Sues California Coastal Commission for Records on Controversial Decision against Elon Musk’s SpaceX

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it sued the California Coastal Commission for records about the decision to prohibit more Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) rockets from launching out of Vandenberg Space Force Base (Judicial Watch Inc. v. California Coastal Commission (No. CPF-24-518820)). A member of the Commission specifically tied her vote against Musk and SpaceX to Musk’s support for President Trump.

The petition was filed in the Superior Court for the County of San Francisco after the Coastal Commission failed to comply with an October 16, 2024, California Public Records Act request by Judicial Watch for records and communications of commissioners regarding SpaceX, Elon Musk, Starlink, Donald Trump, and rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

On October 15, 2024, SpaceX sued the California Coastal Commission citing that the agency “egregiously and unlawfully overreaching its authority” when it “engaged in naked political discrimination,” punishing “a company for the political views and statements of its largest shareholder and CEO,” who is Elon Musk.

The suit recounts an extensive history of SpaceX launches of the Falcon 9 rockets from Vandenberg: “For decades, the Commission has, without fail, agreed with the longstanding position of the U.S. Department of the Air Force (Air Force) that the Base’s commercial space launch programs are federal agency activities that are not subject to Commission’s permitting authority or control.” Further:

Now, however … the Commission has decided to ignore longstanding federal policy and law, its own established practices … to impose a different standard on SpaceX. Specifically, the Commission refused to concur with a proposal by the United States Department of the Air Force to increase from 36 to 50 the number of launches that SpaceX can perform at the Base.

The suit refers to an October 10, 2024, Coastal Commission meeting during which they voted 6-4 to deny the request to allow more SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets to launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base:

As Commissioner Caryl Hart said: the basis for the decision was not that a commercial operator with a space launch program at the Base was increasing its annual launch cadence, but rather that SpaceX was doing so: “The concern is with SpaceX increasing its launches, not with the other companies increasing their launches . . . we’re dealing with a company . . . the head of which has aggressively injected himself into the Presidential race and made it clear what his point of view is.”

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To make it even clearer that the Commission’s decision was based on its political biases and other irrelevant, misplaced concerns, the Commission recently approved another commercial space launch operator launching up to 60 launches a year from the same Base, accepting that this operator’s launch program, including commercial launches, are federal agency activities.

“The powerful California Coastal Commission engaged in naked lawfare and abuse against Elon Musk and SpaceX because of his support for Trump,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “And now the powerful agency wants to cover up its abuse by illicitly hiding records from the public. Judicial Watch is going to court to remind this agency that it is not above the law”

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